My Little Pony: Past is Present
by G12G4
Summary: A G1/G4 crossover. In wanting to know where he came from Spike not only uncovers his past but the past of Equestria - but will it be enough to stop Chrysalis and her army before they take over Equestria forever?


Chapter 1

A Hatching Day Revelation

The soft rays of the morning sun filtered through the upstairs window of the Ponyville library, their warm light falling upon the pink nose of a baby dragon nestled in his bed. His nose crinkled at the warmth, still drowsy he scratched his side with his hind leg thrice, got up, turned around twice, and then plopped onto his back with his mouth open. "Should we wake him?" A voice whispered.

"No, let's let him sleep for a bit longer." Another voice answered.

"Oh he's sooo cute when he's sleeping!" A hushed tone fawned.

"But I want to wake him up now!" came the louder and more eager reply of another voice.

"Shh, Pinkie you'll wake him up!" came the whispered scold of the second voice.

"Oh I do hope he wakes up soon." Came a 5th voice. "I can hardly wait to give him the present I made for him."

"Present?" The baby dragon was up in a flash. "Where?" He cried as he looked excitedly around Rarity's legs.

"Not yet Spike, you can open your presents when we get to Canterlot Castle. Just remember you only get one present from each of us this year – we don't want a repeat of what happened last year." Twilight Sparkle admonished. Spike, who was now searching atop Rarity's head, felt his cheeks turned red at the memory. He dropped to the ground.

"Oh yeah…" he bashfully looked at his foot, the claw drawing little circles on the floor.

"Oh please Twilight may I give him my present now? It'll be the perfect accessory for the party!" Rarity begged "Please, please?"

"Yeah Twilight, please please?" Spike chimed in.

"Yeah Please please please with whipped cream and a cherry and spinkles and chocolate sauce and strawberries and- oh wow let's get some ice cream and some cake and-" Pinkie Pie bounced about continuing to list sweets.

"Well….. I don't know…" Twilight Sparkle looked into the long faces of Spike and the other ponies, excepting Pinkie Pie who was still buoyantly listing apple pie, and bearclaws, and donuts. "Okay!" She said decisively clomping her left hoof down. "But just one present, the rest have to wait until after the party."

"Woohoo!" shouted Pinkie, who had seemed to snap seamlessly back to the present from her list, she wrapped her hooves around Spike and Rarity's necks. "So what did we get?" the bright pink pony asked excitedly. Rarity shook her off and walked over to a small neatly wrapped white package with a deep purple bow. Her horn and the package glowed as she moved it over to him.

"Spike, this is my present to you." Rarity demurred as she carefully guided the package to a gentle landing at Spike's feet.

"Oh boy!" Spike cried as he ripped in to the wrapping. He held up his prize – a light blue bowtie with an azure gem embedded in the center. "Wow," he sighed, gazing at his reflection in the gem "it's beautiful."

"I knew you'd like it." Rarity said in the haughty but not ungracious manner that was all her own. "Now put it on and let's see how it looks." Spike put the bowtie on and admired himself in the mirror.

"Well that sure is right purdy, Rarity." Applejack was the first to chime in. The rest followed suit in praising the gift.

"Awesome!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh Spike you just look so handsome!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"I can't wait to show it to Princess Celestia!" Spike beamed.

"Speaking of that, we'd better get a move on or we'll miss the train." Twilight Sparkle, ever the voice of reason, interjected.

Hours later Spike sat in the middle of a great pile of wrapping paper and gifts beneath a banner strung across the ceiling which read "Happy Hatching Day Spike!" in bold letters. The party had been a great success and was winding down but something seemed a bit off. Spike, even surrounded by gifts and his best friends, seemed to be a bit sad. He sighed heavily. Twilight Sparkle overheard the sigh and walked over. "What's wrong Spike?" she asked.

"It's nothing." Spike replied. The others, noticing something amiss came over.

"Are you tired?" asked Fluttershy.

"Maybe he just needs more cake," Pinkie Pie conjectured "Cake solves everything!"

"He's probably just bored. How about we liven things up with an extreme flight around Canterlot Castle?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"Thanks guys, but it's nothing like that." Spike answered. "It's just…"

"What is it Spike? I promise we'll do our best to help you whatever it is." Twilight Sparkle vowed crossing her heart with her hoof.

"Well, it's just Apple Jack has Sweet Apple Acres, and Rainbow Dash has Cloudsdale, and you have Canterlot – but I don't know where I came from. Who am I? Who were my parents? How did I get to Canterlot and where did I come from?"

"I believe I may be able to provide some insight to your questions." Princess Celestia regally stepped forward to address the small dragon. "A long time ago, when we were still exploring the mountainside that this castle rests upon, our explorers came upon a small cave on the eastern side of the mountain in a location so steep and treacherous that only our finest fliers could enter. Near the entrance of the cave they found a nest with a single egg in it and a single word "Spike" carved into the wall. The explorers searched for any signs of someone living in the cave but found none and, not wanting to leave the egg unattended, decided to bring it with them to show to myself. When I saw the egg I recognized it as a dragon's egg but since we had no dragon to hatch it I knew only a powerful magic user could rescue the baby dragon from his prison. I had sensed that Twilight Sparkle might possess such a magic and used the egg to test whether she indeed did hold the magic of the Princesses."

"So that wasn't the same test everyone was given?" Twilight Sparkle interrupted.

"No, it was not." Princess Celestia continued. "Spike is the only baby dragon living in Equestria because only you could free him Twilight Sparkle." Twilight Sparkle looked proud if somewhat confused by this statement but Spike seemed to be mulling over something else. Finally he spoke,

"So if I was found in a cave… maybe the cave is still there! Can we go Twilight? Please?" Twilight Sparkle looked up into the face of her mentor.

"What do you think Princess Celestia?" She asked.

"You will have to be very careful," Princess Celestia warned. "But I think it is a fine idea. There should be a map to the cave in the Castle archives."

"Then let's go!" Spike had already started running off to the Library, the other ponies following behind.

**Chapter 2**

**An Expedition Ends and an Adventure Begins**

A great hot air balloon floated through the clouds up the east side of the mountain upon which Canterlot Castle was built. Twilight Sparkle had an old brown map outstretched in front of her while the others gathered around. "According to this map the enterance to the cave should be right around here" she said pointing to a place on the map with her hoof. Rainbow Dash peered through the clouds with her hoof shielding her eyes. She squinted at the mountain face. Suddenly she spied a black hole with a small flat landing at the enterance.  
"There it is!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Spike and the others ran to the edge of the basket to see. Twilight Sparkle tossed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash each a rope.

"Alright: you, Fluttershy, and I will guide this balloon in for a landing." She said tying the rope around her waist. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed suit. The trio were soon out of the basket and pulling the balloon toward the cliff.  
"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed as a gust of wind blew her up and almost over the balloon.

"Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she corrected her path from an unexpected wind blast. "Watch out Twilight - these aren't normal wind gust!"  
"You can say that again!" Twilight Sparkle called out in a shaking voice as the wind attacked her at all angles blowing her back, forward, right, left, and upside-down before she was able to right herself. The balloon swayed dangerously in the turbulence.

"Whee!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as the ponies and baby dragon rolled back and forth in the basket of the wind buffetted balloon.

"Hold on everypony!" Applejack grabbed the ripcord between her teeth as the balloon pitched and jumped. "Woah!" she cried out as she was thrown from the ledge of the ballloon, swinging out into midair, her hooves splayed out in all directions.

"Applejack!" Rarity screamed raising her terrified head and hooves above the rim of the basket. A sudden pitch by the balloon sent her hurtling into the opposite side of the basket with Spike and Pinkie crashing on top of her. Applejack's eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the rope yanking it taut.

"Yeehaw!" She cried as she swung back into the basket. She found her footing on the basket floor and taking a powerful stance she pulled the rope to control the balloon. With the balloon finally under control the ponies and Spike were able to look over the edge of the basket at their guides who, at that moment were struggling mightily against the relentless gusts.

"Maybe we should turn back" Fluttershy suggested hopefully.

"No," Twilight Sparkle responded with gritted teeth, clearly battling the wind to stay on course. "This is for Spike." With that Fluttershy peered back towards the basket and looked into the hopeful eyes of the baby dragon.

"For Spike" she repeated as she gritted her own teeth and redoubled her efforts, passing up the other two to lead the pack. The three fliers pushed forward through the battering wind gusts to the cave enterance. Then, just as suddenly as it started the wind stopped.

"What was that?!" Rainbow Dash asked when she was finally able to open her eyes fully again.

"I don't know," Twilight Sparkle replied. "But it is probably why only Equestria's most skilled fliers could reach the cave." The three came in for a landing at the mouth of the cave and pulled in the balloon allowing the other ponies and Spike to jump out.

"Again again!" Pinkie Pie shouted joyously as she bounced out of the balloon. Rarity slithered out behind her, her mane puffy and her eyes ringed with dark circles.

"uuugh" she moaned. Spike hopped out after her and rushed to the cave enterance. "Wait Spike!" Twilight Sparkle caught his tail in her mouth. His feet kept moving for a moment until he realized he was not going anywhere.

"What now?" he moaned as she released his tail.

"You can't just go running in there, it might not be safe." Spike had to concede that she had a point. "Let's all go in together, slowly." They had only entered a few steps into the cave when Spike tripped over something.

"Woaoah!" he cried out before falling head first into a soft pile of straw! The others came over to him.

"Well lookie here" Applejack exclaimed indicating to a spot on the cave wall just above the straw. The others turned their attention from Spike, who was brushing himself off, to the wall. Spike looked up to see the faces of his friends gaping at a spot above him.

"What is it guys?" he asked, turning around, then suddenly- "Woah" In large letters hewn into the stone above the straw the letters S-P-I-K-E could be observed. Spike looked at the letters and then back around him at the straw, then back at the letters, then the straw again. His eyes grew large and he suddenly plopped down, overwhelmed, in the middle of the straw. "So this... this is where they found me." he said meekly. "This was my home," he picked up the straw with a new energy. "This-" he said ruslting through the straw, "was my nest!" He jumped out of the long abandoned nest. "I wonder if anyone is home! Mom? Dad?" He called out as he ran from one end of the cavern to the other. The ponies looked at each other with a sad knowingness but they didn't say anything. They knew Spike knew what they did too, but there is a difference between knowing something and accepting it. As painful as it was to watch they had to let him come to that realization on his own. He had to try. It was the only way he could ever accept the truth. Finally he stopped calling and slowly trudged back to the nest. "There's no one here," he mumbled, crestfallen. "No one has lived here for years." He plopped down in the center of the nest looking dejected. In a heatbeat he was back on his feet. "Ow!" he cried rubbing his bottom.

"What is it, Spike?" Twilight Sparkle looked on the dragon with concern and alarm.

"Something poked me!" Spike answered looking back down at the nest. From the straw something glinted and Spike saw the pointed tip of something golden poking out from the center of the nest. "What is that?!" he exclaimed. He set upon the object, digging through the straw excitedly. A second later he dangled from his claws a badly beaten, worn heartshaped golden locket for the ponies to see.

"What is that?" Twilight Sparkle asked. As the glinting object slowly spun in the air.

"It looks like an old locket." Rarity answered. Her horn glowed as she summoned the locked from Spike's claws for closer examination. "It looks to be in very bad shape. I wonder how it got all the way up here?" She said turning the locket this way and that. She appeared to concentrate hard for a moment "Ugh, I can't seem to get it open."

"Here, let me try!" Spike jumped up, grabbing the locket out of midair before any of the other ponies had a chance to react. He pulled and pulled and grunted and pulled but he could not get the clasp to budge. Finally, exhausted, he held out the locket in his open hand to Twilight Sparkle. "You try." He panted.

"Okay," she consented, lift the locket from his claws. She concentrated, she twisted and turned, she threw a strong spell at it, then another, but to no avail. Finally, a bit winded she sent it back to Spike. "I can't get it open." Spike looked defeated again. It seemed every time he had a glimmer of hope that he would find out who he was it was immediantly squelched. "Don't worry Spike," she said consolingly "I'm sure Princess Celestia will have the answer."

"That's right, Darling," Rarity chimed in, floating the locket up from Spike's claws and gently placing it around his neck. "All we have to do is get it back to the Palace."

"Buck up, Buttercup. We'll get that locket opened afore you can say terrible timberwolves took twenty-two tiny trees."

"Terriblu timbewulves twook tennytwo eblflees" Pinkie attempted. Spike appeared to perk up a bit and the group made their way out of the cave.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed picking up one of the moorings. Suddenly Spike looked sick. He belched out green flames and caught a scroll as it flew from his mouth.

"It's from Princess Celestia!" Exclaimed Twilight Sparkle as she unrolled the scroll. "The Palace is under attack!"


End file.
